The Hoboken City Council will vote on the first reading of a $30,324,240 bond for the Sinatra Drive Seawall Rehabilitation Project after investigating a sinkhole near Sybil’s Cave in June.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
A portion of the recommended bond amount would include an annual inspection of waterfront structures to avoid the prior neglect of vital waterfront resources that spanned decades.
If adopted, the city will seek New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approvals to begin construction in the Spring of 2025, officials said.
The rehabilitation initiative stems from a June 2024 investigation following a sinkhole near Sybil’s Cave.
The study, conducted by Colliers Engineering & Design, utilized marine engineers, scuba divers, ground-penetrating radar, and geotechnical borings to assess the seawall’s condition.
The findings revealed that the sinkhole, measuring 11 feet in length, 20 inches in height, and 48 inches in depth, was caused by the loss of historic fill beneath the seawall, dating back to at least the 1950s.
To ensure public safety, and out of an abundance of caution, the city expanded the investigation of the subsurface structures along the waterfront from Pier A along the City’s southern border to the former Monarch site in the north, according to Mayor Ravi Bhalla’s office.
This approach uncovered additional areas of erosion and water infiltration from the Hudson River, which have since been secured.
The city anticipates conducting repairs to stabilize and replace the seawall and walkway along the eastern portion of Sinatra Drive from the gazebo at approximately 7th Street to the existing skate park at approximately Ninth Street near the most significant erosion.
The project will lay the foundation for the Sinatra Drive Redesign Project, which will include Vision Zero upgrades and install a two-way protected bikeway from Fourth Street to Sinatra Drive North, create safer pedestrian crossings, plant 164 trees, upgrade lighting, and add on-street parking.
Other repair areas include the waterfront along the former Monarch site at 15th Street and Shipyard Lane, the southern portion of Sinatra Park near the boat launch and ramp, as well as a portion of the waterfront walkway near the southernmost entrance to Pier C Park.
Additionally, the city will resurface Sinatra Drive between First Street and Fourth Street.
On Sunday, 1st Ward Councilman Paul Presinzano posted a video on X where he said that this situation could have been avoided if the administration had done their due diligence.
“For eight years, this city has chased headlines: Suing big oil, pushing climate policies, and controlling your electric bills, while ignoring Hoboken’s own climate issues. Case in point, the crumbling bulkhead along Sinatra Drive,” he said.
“After the soccer field fell into the Hudson River in the early 2010s, regular shoreline inspections should have been scheduled. Instead, it took a massive sinkhole to prompt the first inspection in 12 years … This is a wake up call, nice things cost money.”
Kamala Harris lost to Trump in part because she did not distance herself enough from Biden. Emily Jabbour will face a similar challenge in the Fall. Bhalla is leaving a mess. many messes actually, and she needs to call them out – then tell us what she will do differently. Not easy – but she has no choice.
How can Emily distance herself from all of the messes she helped create with Ravi? She always did what he wanted and she has to live with his record and hers.
9% property tax increase in 2025. We haven’t started to pay for all of the new parks yet. Fortunately the 250 million high school was voted down. Building department that can’t figure out how to issue permits and do inspections. The garbage collectuon department that approves 75% price increases while giving the Barry Brothers\applied management \ ironsgate\pier 13 3 days a week free garbage pickup that causes 2 hours of garbage collection noise SIX nights a week and Bhalla is trying to sell himself as a mayor that gets things done? The ebike drivers are out of control. Now we need another 30 million because the disfunctional departments under Bhalla did NOTHING!
Bhalla – the do nothing Major who has left the tax payers of Hoboken with huge bills
Anthony Russo Convicted Felon
Left his sons a multi million dollar house he and his wife bought after making money through what it appears to be the bribes he confessed to taking as mayor
Word it there’s an attachment by the Feds to that house
Why not having developers paying by themselves for their essential toy?